Pet owners splurge more money on presents for their animals than for partners

Sorry, darling, I spent all the Christmas cash on Fido: Pet owners splurge more money on presents for their animals than for partners

At least 75% of pet-owners buy gifts for their four-legged friends

Some 66% spend more on a pet than a partner

Average spend is £38

Pets At Home have already sold 49,000 pet advent calenders in the UK

Britain’s boyfriends and girlfriends may well be getting present envy this festive season.

Especially when they look under the tree on Christmas morning and find the dog has more presents than they do.

It seems that pet-mad Britons are happy to spend more on a present for their four-legged friend than the amount they will be spending on their partner.

According to new research, 66 per cent of pet owners will spend the same amount, or even more, on their pet than they would on a partner.

The survey of 1,000 pet-owning adults carried out by Very Important Pets Club, a new customer initiative from Pets At Home, found that 75 per cent of pet owners will buy their pet a gift this festive season.

And if you think that means just a token small bag of festive food treats think again – the average amount most people spend on a Christmas gift for a loved one is £38 – and the amount they spend on their pet is likely to be the same or more.

Pets at Home report seeing a rise in sales of its Christmas pet products with 49,000 Pet Advent Calendars sold nationwide so far, an increase of 43 per cent compared to the same time last year.

The brand have also sold 3,000 reindeer dog jumpers, an increase of 12 per cent year on year.

New quirky festive themed Christmas gift sets such as The Rat Pack and Sheer-a-Sheep cat toys and packs of themed toys containing catnip are also flying off the shelves with up to 80 per cent of some doggy presents already sold.